OT Laptop screen almost torn from the hinges - what to do

theodorn

Hi again, good people of PianoClack. I was thinking I could post my questions about this on SuperUser, but I know there is a lot of knowledge in this field here, with software/hardware engineers, and what not. Besides, I don't like the bother of logging into another forum, which I seldom visit nowadays, though I should maybe frequent the Stack Exchange forums more.

Anyhow, as you can see from the pictures below, I have managed to almost tear the screen of my laptop from the chassis. I was thinking, is it okay to cut the cords completely from the chassis, and just use an external monitor instead, only? Or will I lose contact with the OS completely by doing that?

As you can see from the other picture, I have set the laptop up simply with a 24" TV (not computer monitor, TV) using a Logitech keyboard and mouse. I could do that, and just keep the lid on. Then I have to lift it to turn the computer on and off, but that's fine by me. Would be great to get rid of the lid (screen) altogether, though.

Johnstaf

theodorn JPEG 640x543 91 kBpianoclack.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com

Is that Kronborg? Elsinore to Shakespeare fans.

MacMacMac

I once had a laptop with a broken hinge … though not “ripped” like yours. The hinges can be replaced. Mine were.

As for eliminating the laptop screen and using a separate monitor … that will work. Use all due care when disconnecting the laptop screen.

theodorn

Thank you @MacMacMac. I was just thinking if I could turn off the laptop, disconnect all cables, and then cut the two wires with scissors or something. You can see on the first picture, that there are two coiled wires, one almost all the way to the right, and one to the left, a few centimeters away from the left, just under the web browser window.

PS As you can see, I was reading the Wikipedia article about the Richter scale, in light of the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. It reminded me of the earthquake 2008 in Iceland which was only about 6,1 on Richter. What is so alarming, is that the Richter scale is logarithmic, a 7 is ten times as destructive as a 6. So this earthquake is about 50 times the magnitude of the earthquake in Iceland, and the latter caused considerable damage. This issue probably deserves it's own (off topic) thread, though.

MacMacMac

Don't cut the wires. Just pull the connector from its socket.

theodorn

OK, I see. I'll have to look at some YouTube videos, I'm a not exactly the greatest DIY guy around. 😄 This is an MSI-GE73, there should be some videos for disassembling it, that I can find.

theodorn

It ended by me just cutting the wires. I couldn't figure out how the wire on the left went into the chassis, it disappeared behind the insides of the chassis, and I had no idea which connector to unplug.

The cable on the right, I had a bit more luck with. First I plugged the wrong connector, the one on the right (see the picture). I managed to squeeze it back in somehow, thought the computer was toast for certain!

I managed to get the other connector out, but there was no way to get it through the chassis. It seemed I would have had to remove the whole cooler system, which goes all the way to the other (left) side.

As you can see on the picture, and the arrows, only the right side is visible. I was forced to just cut the connector from the cable, then I was able to drag it out of the chassis.

The laptop starts normally to my external monitor. It's hardly portable anymore, so maybe I will dedicate it to my digital piano, for piano VSTs and studio work. That or Linuxize it, wipe the disk and install (K)Ubuntu.

kawafanboi

some laptops won't boot without that cable attached, so don't button it up before you test it 🙃

but yea, there are lots of replacement parts available usually.

that's why i always buy lenovo, they've got so many parts due to retired corporate volume, for a few bucks you can fix most problems.

to remove that cable you might have to remove the heatsink if there isn't enough clearance.

the heatsink looks like it has to come out, and maybe also the fan. make sure to replace the thermal paste before putting the heatsink back on.

n-player

I wouldn't have cut the wire for lots of reasons (hinge might have been fixable, unintended consequences, inability to access the screen for emergencies.) The laptop can be used in "clamshell form". In the end it is done and doesn't really matter.

Some broken hinges can be repaired with epoxy. There is some risk of destroying the computer. Some epoxies and materials don't work well together. Some plastics may fail from the epoxy.

The cable and connectors are ultra delicate so easily broken. Just bending or kinking a cable. Or touching a connector (bending pins and the oils from skin are typical failures).

Below is a hinge we fixed on a Dell XPS 2 years ago with adhesive. You can see the crack running down the screen and ending at the round blob of glue.

kawafanboi

n-player Some broken hinges can be repaired with epoxy. There is some risk of destroying the computer. Some epoxies and materials don't work well together. Some plastics may fail from the epoxy.

most people don't epoxy because it doesn't have the strength long term especially with thermal cycling. people usually buy a new bottom clam shell.

this is why popular models are best, because you can find more replacement parts and they're cheaper.

dore_m

Even if you did cut the wires, you probably should disconnect the cable at the connector anyway as you might get some unwanted electromagnetic interference. I used to design laptop layouts for Dell, and in the past, getting cables through the hinge was perhaps the most difficult part to design for reliability and serviceability. I'd imagine that in today's highly compact laptops that getting to that connector might mean removing the fan and heatsink/heatpipe, which is a real chore to re-assemble.

kawafanboi

i just want to add that those wires are expensive, and sometimes hard to find if you ever want to replace the thing, the panels are easy and cheap to find, but the right cables may not be. it's not one size fits all, even 2 cables that look the same can have slightly different configurations.

theodorn

Just came home from a trip, thank you everyone for great points and tips. You're probably right about Lenovo, @kawafanboi. I just don't want to buy Chinese products, sorry not meaning to start a political debate. 😗 I support Taiwan, so MSI, Acer and Asus, great. I had a Lenovo laptop many years ago, but it blacked out on me due to overheating, which was probably my fault.

The problem with MSIs is in my opinion, that the hinges are too stiff, saw on some video that they can be loosened up. Also the USB ports hold on too tight to the USB drives, noticed my friend who has an Acer, relatively new, has the same problem.

I'm writing this comment on the MSI, and I actually like this setup, with a considerably bigger monitor. The MSI is (or was) 17 inch, therefore more screen real estate compared to a 15 inch laptop, but the problem was it didn't fit well into my backpack. As long as it works, it's fine, and if the MSI dies on me, I have a desktop computer, which is my work/main computer.

kawafanboi

most msi/acer/asus stuff is made in china though. even if it says taiwan on the label.

just like how korg says their lp380 is made in japan, when all the parts are shipped from medeli oem china, and they do a tiny leg of the assembly in japan.

theodorn

Yeah, I know that is often the case, that the internal parts of a product are imported from another country or the whole product outsourced completely or almost completely to a different country than the one specified as the country of origin.

theodorn

I had a feeling I would have had to remove the fans, and the heat sink, which would be difficult, and you guys confirmed that gut feeling. Like I said, I'm not a good DIY guy, would have gone mad if I had tried it, and the laptop would have been toast by now, LOL! This spaghetti of wires, transistors, connectors, and what not, scares me. 😁 Again, thanks for all help.

kawafanboi

theodorn

the fan , just becareful not to break the power cable connecting the fans. these are not expensive to replace though, nothing to worry about

the heatsink shouldn't be a problem, make sure you follow the stamped numbers on the heatsink in reverse order for removal if there are any, usually only very large heatsinks are stamped, smaller ones you can remove and replace in any order.

you have to have thermal paste for replacement, you don't want to have to get a credit card scrape the old paste into the middle, and try to reuse that, you can in a pinch, but don't do it , thermal paste is cheap, i recommend mx4 or mx6.

dore_m

kawafanboi you have to have thermal paste for replacement, you don't want to have to get a credit card scrape the old paste into the middle, and try to reuse that, you can in a pinch, but don't do it , thermal paste is cheap, i recommend mx4 or mx6.

For me, this is the part that sucks. Removing screws, pulling out cables from headers and such are pretty easy. Having to deal with thermal paste and things that involve heatpipes suck. I've had to design enough of those to be afraid of messing with thermal resistance/thermal paste, which is the heat transfer chokepoint. But then again, that was back when processors were red-hot. Maybe not so as sensitive nowadays.

kawafanboi

dore_m

kids do their own computers these days dore, this is easy peasy for adults 🙃

the only dangerous thing is those liquid gallium conductive pastes that have become popular in the last 10 years. they really shouldn't be used on most computers.

I use them because they are 10-15 celcius drop better than standard paste, but I nickle plate my heatsinks to withstand the alloying. alot of people are putting these gallium pastes on copper, and overtime the alloying with copper turns it into a hard brittle surface with airpockets.

QuasiUnaFantasia

It is indeed!